Athens Community Exercise Park dedication is April 20

Park result of University and City partnership

Apr 14, 2011By Dave Talmage

The new Athens Community Exercise Park, located at the West State Street Park, will be dedicated to military veterans past, present and future at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 20.

The ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony will feature brief remarks from Athens City Mayor Paul Wiehl, University College Dean David Descutner and Ohio University Professor of Military Science Joel A. Smith.

The ceremony is open to the public and Smith encourages everyone in the community to attend.

"It'd be great to see a lot of people out there because this park is there for everybody," Smith said. "We put a lot of thought into what to call it and we specifically included the word 'community' in the title so that everyone knew who it's for."

The partnership produced a public course that both the Athens community and the Army ROTC program could take advantage of.

It includes equipment for a variety of workouts, including pull-ups, dips and sit ups. It also has an area for rope climbing that the Army ROTC cadets use for military training.

The Army ROTC program has already begun using the park in their morning physical training and will continue to use it to help increase cadets physical performances throughout the year. The course will especially benefit senior cadets who are preparing for their national summer fitness evaluation.

The construction of the park also provided an opportunity for Army ROTC students to give back to the local community by providing labor.

"This project has allowed the cadets to make a positive contribution to their community," Smith said.